GENERAL SESSION: Hear from Housing Leaders

2025 MBA Chair-Elect; Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer & Chief Operating Officer, M&T Realty Capital Corporation

Christine Chandler is the 2025 MBA Chair-Elect. Christine Chandler has been with M and T since 1991 and has over 30 years of commercial real estate experience. As COO/CCO, Chandler has been responsible for making credit decisions for M and T Realty Capital Corporation (RCC) multifamily and healthcare transactions underwritten in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Agency) and FHA platforms as well as managing the company operations. In addition, the Asset Management Group and Transformation Team, including technology and process improvement, report to Chandler. She serves on both the MBA Audit and DEI committees; former Chair of the MBA Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Board of Governors (COMBOG) and former co-Chair - MBA Affordable Rental Housing Advisory Committee.

Deputy Director, Division of Housing Mission and Goals (DHMG), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

Naa Awaa Tagoe is the Deputy Director for the Division of Housing Mission and Goals at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). She is responsible for oversight of single-family and multifamily housing policy and regulatory capital policy for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). She is also responsible for oversight of the affordable housing mission activities and fair lending compliance of the Enterprises’ and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. Naa Awaa also supports the FHFA Director’s responsibilities as a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. She assumed this role in July 2022. Previously, Naa Awaa served as the Principal Associate Director in the Office of Capital Policy at FHFA responsible for oversight of the Enterprises’ credit risk transfer programs, non-performing loan sales programs, Dodd-Frank Act stress tests, and financial eligibility requirements for approved mortgage insurers, mortgage sellers, and mortgage servicers. Prior to joining the predecessor agency of FHFA in 2003, Naa Awaa held positions in financial services and management consulting. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and her MBA from Stanford University.

Acting Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Adrianne Todman is Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She was previously confirmed by the Senate to serve as the Deputy Secretary of HUD in June, 2021. As Deputy Secretary, she served as the second highest ranking official at HUD, and executed both policy and operational priorities. This included providing guidance on department-wide initiatives to increase housing supply, improve disaster response and recovery efforts, steer climate and resiliency endeavors, and enhance customer access to HUD’s programs. Additionally, she oversaw HUD’s efforts to improve agency hiring and workforce engagement, and enhance the agency's risk assessments, IT investments and contracting protocols. Prior to joining HUD she served as the CEO of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) from 2017 to June 2021. During her tenure, she improved the association’s financial standing and business operations, created a member-centric culture, and advocated for funding and policies to preserve and develop affordable housing and help communities thrive. Before joining NAHRO, Acting Secretary Todman served as the Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA). At DCHA, she implemented a national award-winning model to house veterans experiencing homelessness, increased homeownership opportunities by 50 percent for low- and moderate-income families served by DCHA, increased the number of affordable units available in neighborhoods experiencing rapid growth, and oversaw multiple redevelopment efforts. She prioritized repairs to units, services for youth, workforce development, and commissioned the first citywide needs assessment of public housing residents. Acting Secretary Todman previously served in several career positions at HUD. First, as a manager of HUD’s $500 million grant competition that focused on revitalizing distressed public housing sites, and also as a policy aide in the Office of the Secretary where she worked with staff across HUD’s programs. Her career in public service began in the office of then-Congressman Ron de Lugo, a long-serving member representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Todman was born and raised. Acting Secretary Todman believes that we have a responsibility to confront housing insecurity; increase and preserve the nation’s housing supply; eliminate housing discrimination; and support community resiliency, particularly following a natural disaster. She has focused on ensuring that HUD has the staff and tools it needs to administer and provide oversight over programs critical to supporting people and communities across the country. She is a graduate of Smith College and lives in Washington, D.C.